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Northern Ireland next on the menu for magnificent Müller

vor 2 StundenFC Bayern München's Thomas Müller has scored four goals in his last two appearances for Germany.

Summary

Germany host Northern Ireland on Tuesday.

Müller with four goals in last two games for Germany.

Not scored in the Bundesliga since April.

Thomas Müller will look to continue his curious scoring run when Germany welcome Northern Ireland to Hannover 96's HDI-Arena in FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifying Group C on Tuesday (kick-off 20:45CEST/18:45GMT).

The FC Bayern München forward cannot buy a goal in the Bundesliga at present, but has registered four in his last two competitive outings for the world champions.

"Football's like that sometimes, but I don't pay much attention to what is said," Müller explained after registering his second successive World Cup qualifying brace in Germany's 3-0 stroll against the Czech Republic at the weekend. "I will always try to stay on the right path, listen only to my coaches and my inner voice. I try to take the good and use it to stay focused. As a striker you always try to convert your chances, give everything when training. That's it."

Müller helped himself to a brace in the defending champions' World Cup qualifying win over the Czech Republic.

Müller was criticised by some sections of the media after going 570 minutes without scoring at UEFA EURO 2016, and is currently enduring a six-match lean spell in the Bundesliga dating back to last season. Only on six previous occasions spread over 233 top-flight appearances has he had to wait longer for a Bundesliga goal - not that Germany head coach Joachim Löw has ever been the slightest bit concerned by his No.13's playfully self-styled "mini drama".

"A striker has phases where he doesn't score goals and is a bit unlucky - it’s completely normal for this to happen from time to time," Löw said after Die Nationalmannschaft cemented their place at the top of Group C with victory over the Czechs. "He is a player who can always score goals and he showed that today. Since the 2010 World Cup, Thomas Müller has scored regularly in the Bundesliga and for the national team."

The Bayern forward also struck twice as Germany beat Norway by the same 3-0 scoreline in August.

There is, indeed, no refuting the cold hard facts. Since making his first-team debut on 15 August 2008, Müller has registered 154 goals in all competitions for Bayern, as well as a further 36 strikes in 80 appearances for the senior national team. When he does not score, he can almost always be relied upon to make a telling contribution for his team-mates, as his 150 assists for club and country go to show.

"You have to keep working hard when you're not scoring," Müller affirmed. "You have to make those runs in games and see if the defender follows you. You have to be ready to make adjustments, push yourself and hope you get on the end of things. We could have scored more [against the Czech Republic], but unfortunately there are always defenders and goalkeepers trying to get in the way (laughs)."

Müller is yet to find the net in the Bundesliga this season, but has registered three assists.

Back among the goals and with his trademark sense of humour intact, Müller can look forward to the Northern Ireland game with added relish. On another day, he might have had a hat-trick when the two nations met at EURO 2016 - a game Germany won 1-0 thanks to an assist from you know who - but do not expect the inimitable Raumdeuter to make the same mistakes twice. On current form, an eighth international double or even a second career hat-trick for the four-time world champions is firmly within the realms of possibility.